Pixel Slate review: a glitchy, mediocre Surface Pro imitation

It's a case of "must try harder" for Google with its new tablet. A combination of high pricing and unforgivable software glitches make this an unattractive option if you're looking for a powerhouse pad

Chrome OS is seven years old. Let that sink in for a moment. It’s not new anymore. It’s not a cute experiment. It’s shipped in millions of products. It’s used in tens of thousands of schools and businesses. But, judging by the Pixel Slate, it’s still an incomplete hodge-podge of neat ideas and square pegs. Worse still, in the Pixel Slate, it’s married to a tablet that combines all the worst parts of the Surface Pro and the iPad Pro. Squint really hard and you can see glimpses of potential, but that’s not enough anymore.

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Minimum viable design

The Pixel Slate is Google’s answer to the Surface Pro and iPad Pro – a hybrid computing device that blurs the lines between tablet, computer and mobile phone. It has an attractive high-resolution 12.3in display, an optional keyboard folio (£189) that’s not really optional and phone-like features such as USB-C fast charging and cameras. There’s a fingerprint scanner built into the power button, support for the Pixelbook Pen and the spec sheet is full of impressive sounding things like a Molecular Display and stereo speakers which are “algorithmically tuned to perfection”. On paper, it’s a winner.

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The reality is less impressive. Chunky bezels make the Pixel Slate look dated. Indeed, it looks like Google took last year’s Pixel 2 XL smartphone and hit the enlarge button on a photocopier. Yes, it’s slim and light, but the version tested will cost £969 before you add the essential keyboard folio. The screen is very good and those algorithmically tuned speakers are impressively detailed and rich, but this is the bare minimum expected of a £1,000 gadget these days. For all its clever sound bites, the Pixel Slate isn’t exciting.

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The keyboard folio is equally disappointing. To its credit, the odd-looking round keys are rather good. You can type all day and not miss a beat, and the large trackpad is fine, too. But the folio is heavy and hard to use. A flapping bit of fabric is all that holds the tablet steady when it’s on your lap, so it over balances. The Surface Pro isn’t easy to use on your lap, but it does work.

Magnets let you adjust the screen angle in laptop and tablet modes and this works well, but switching modes is a faff of confusing folding and flipping that frequently results in the tablet falling out. The keyboard and tablet weigh 1.2kg combined, a sizeable 118g more than the Surface Pro with its keyboard and only marginally less than the new MacBook Air. The whole thing feels bulky and clumsy.

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The Pixel Slate isn’t without neat design touches, but it feels underdeveloped. It's hard to tolerate when the likes of the Surface Pro and iPad Pro are so refined and mature.

Software under construction

It’s a similar story for Chrome OS. It has many strengths, especially if you do all your work in a browser, but the Pixel Slate exposes its flaws.

Unlike the iPad Pro, it’s easy to plug into a 4K monitor at your desk and use the Pixel Slate like you would a normal laptop. In this way, Chrome OS is somewhere between the upscaled mobile experience of iOS and the full-fat Windows ecosystem. You get the benefit of good security and the lack of bloatware, and you get a ‘desktop class’ web browser for serious work. More or less anything plugged into the USB-C ports works as expected – a common complaint against the iPad Pro – and Chrome OS has basics such as a file explorer that make using it as a computer more bearable. There are numerous well-documented edge cases (there’s no still no Photoshop web app) where Chrome OS falls short, but if you live entirely in the browser then it’s a decent experience.

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Things get messy when you delve into the world of Android apps, which run on Chrome OS with varying degrees of success. When they work reliably, downloading and using Android apps on the Pixel Slate adds a new dimension, but you’ll quickly learn they’re more trouble than they’re worth. If there’s a half-decent web app, you’re always better off using it instead.

Spotify is a case in point. Like many Android apps, it opens in a phone-sized window on the desktop. This is fine most of the time and you can still use the app in a larger window, but performance is choppy. Playback often stutters, creating annoying distortions when listening over Bluetooth (there’s no headphone jack). The Slack messaging app, which is actually optimised for large screens, was equally sluggish. Alto’s Odyssey, a game which wouldn’t trouble an entry-level Android phone, was unplayably slow at times. Some apps, like Netflix, work fine, but you’re rarely far away from a deal-breaking bug or annoyance. There’s no section of the Google Play Store for apps certified to work on Chrome OS, so it’s a frustrating suck-it-and-see experience.

Sub-par performance

General performance is a mixed bag, too. On the Intel Core i5 version tested, the Pixel Slate handles 10 to 20 Chrome tabs with little difficulty. But you do see odd slow downs where menu animations drop frames and there’s a general lack of fluidity compared to a good Android phone or an iPad. Given these problems occur on an Intel Core i5 version with 8GB of memory, the cheaper versions running Celeron and Core M processors look like a bad idea.

Things degrade further when in tablet mode, where performance is noticeably poorer. All apps open in full screen by default, but not all Android apps support landscape mode, so will automatically force you into portrait – and sometimes crash while doing it. These apps look odd blown up on the huge 12.3in screen. The touch-friendly elements introduced to Chrome OS are fine. It’s easy, for example, to snap windows side-by-side, but it’s a barebones experience.

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Much the same can be said of the Pixelbook Pen. Many of its functions, like capturing screenshots, acting as a laser pointer for presentations and invoking Google Assistant to identify what you’re looking at, could be done with your finger. The note-taking, which is advertised as having "virtually no lag", is fine most of the time, but isn’t immune to the Pixel Slate’s spotty performance. Unlike the keyboard, it’s by no means an essential addition unless you really want to make handwritten notes, and both the iPad Pro and Surface Pro do this better.

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Verdict

The Pixel Slate is a fine idea executed badly. When it’s working smoothly, it strikes an interesting balance between a Surface Pro and the iPad Pro. It’s a more convincing PC replacement than an iPad Pro, but without the baggage of Windows. It’s often nice to use. However, poor performance, uninspired design and buggy software aren’t acceptable in 2018. Chrome OS fans are better served by the Pixelbook and everyone else will find the Surface Pro or iPad Pro more convincing (and reliable) depending on their needs.